Around The World To Castro Valley

Your Boulevardier spotted a flyer in the window of Eden Bicycles for a program that looks fascinating. On Saturday, April 10 a t 7:00 p.m., Castro Valley native Rick Gunn will present "Soulcycler" at the Center for the Arts. This multimedia program will feature words and images from Gunn's three-year, 25,811-mile bicycle journey around the world.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 for students. Check Rick Gunn's website, linked above, for more info about Soulcycler.

Lines In The Sand

Your Boulevardier is not a fan of graffiti. Yes, he supposes some graffiti can be art, but much more of it seems to be vandalism and a sort of silent conflict; one group tags a structure, declaring it their territory; another tags the same structure more aggressively, which in their mind revokes the first group's claim; and on and on. Nobody wins, and the owner of the structure loses.

While Your Boulevardier feels strongly about this, he also has to acknowledge a certain appreciation for one form of tagging that seem to have a more benign intention. Specifically, along a walk on Somerset Avenue the other day he noticed two patterns stenciled on the ground. One is of an angel, the other a seahorse. (Because of technical problems, only one is pictured here; the other will be added soon.)


Your Boulevardier suspects that the two were done by different persons, because the styles are so different: the seahorse is solid and chunky, while the angel is stenciled in reverse and has an airy feel to it. (The techniques are appropriate to the subject matter, he thinks.) Yet the black paint used is the same, so perhaps the same individual painted both. One can't know, but if they were created by two people, they do not seem in conflict with one another.

While it's always best to walk looking up -- for safety, and for appreciation of these fine spring days -- Your Boulevardier may cast his eyes downward from time to time over the next few weeks to look for more examples of sidewalk graffiti.

Spring Bouquets

Your Boulevardier noticed this lovely array of faux freesias with colorful ribbons outside Dried & Tied in Castro Village the other day. The arrangements did a lovely job of heralding the arrival of springtime.



Our springlike weather in Castro Valley is turning wintery again, for a short time. Tonight's rain is not unwelcome, as one has grown tired of watering here at Chez Boulevardier.

Apologies, as ever, for the dearth of posts. Family duties have called. A few walks have been made, and a few stories collected; finding time to share them becomes the challenge. Thank you for your patience.

A Little Cleanup, A Little News, A Little Plug

The Cleanup I: Your Boulevardier thanks reader mdbill4u for decoding "FOB" as "Friend of Boulevardier." It was intended as a takeoff on the name given to the close circle of longtime friends of former President Bill Clinton, who were sometimes referred to as F.O.B.'s, or Friends of Bill. (The previous link is well worth following, by the way.) A little more research has also found that "Friends of Bill" is also a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, as Bill W. was the founder of that worthy organization.

The Cleanup II: The FOB who submitted the Redwood Road offramp photo has informed Your Boulevardier that they were, in fact, snapped on Tuesday morning, not on Tuesday afternoon. So, in a spirit of full disclosure, Your Boulevardier corrects himself and announces that they were posted within a few hours of being taken, but not within a few minutes.

The News: The web hosting arrangement used by the Castro Valley Boulevardier will soon undergo a change. This is necessitated by technical changes at Blogger, but Your Boulevardier hopes to use it as an opportunity to clean up and improve the blog. However, it also promises to be quite a hassle. Please stay tuned.

The Plug: Facebook users who love Castro Valley are encouraged to check out CV Legends, a Facebook group dedicated to all things Castro Valley. (If that link doesn't work, simply search for "CV Legends" on Facebook.) The format is simple: the host posts a photo, and readers riff on it. Judging by the comments, many of the readers are former Castro Valleyans, aged 30 and up, but that's probably an overgeneralization. Most importantly, the discussions among the 1600+ members are lively and fun.

Myco Mania

The wood chip-covered vacant lot behind Peet's Coffee on Redwood Road -- home of the annual Boy Scout Christmas Tree Lot -- is today sporting hundreds and hundreds of mushrooms. Your Boulevardier assumes that the spores were somehow carried by the mulch that is used to keep down the weeds on the lot, and that our copious winter rains have encouraged the fungi to grow and propagate.



The bloom -- if that's the appropriate word for a mushrooming spurt of mushroom growth -- was better a few days ago. The plants (again, if that's the right word) were fuller and lighter in color. Unfortunately, Your Boulevardier was not able to snap a photo at the time. Now, the mushrooms are starting to collapse and return to the earth. It will be interesting to note if they reappear next year, and in what quantity. (And, if a mycologist is among the readership, it would be interesting to know what variety of mushrooms these are.)

A Boulevardier First

A FOB sent photos from his iPhone showing concrete being poured for the westbound I-580 offramp to Redwood Road. Your Boulevardier's favorite shot is reproduced here, within 10 minutes of the picture being taken.

A Bank of Trees

Several days ago, Your Boulevardier noticed an unusual group of trees next to the Chase Bank on Castro Valley Boulevard. He snapped this photo, which is not very good; a close inspection (click the photo for a better view) shows that 14 small tree trunks all blend into the same petite canopy of foliage. It's eccentric landscaping, and he was surprised to see it by a staid bank building. He's giving it the coveted "garden art" tag, even though he doubts it's an intentional act of topiary.


P.S. Your Boulevardier got caught in today's brief hailstorm during his afternoon walk today. It was not unwelcome or unpleasant, but it was certainly unexpected.

Bump And Grind

Your Boulevardier met an old friend -- actually, his junior high music teacher -- for coffee at Peet's early this afternoon. The gentleman wanted advice on a new gadget he had purchased, and Your Boulevardier was happy for the excuse to get together and chat -- about musical instruments, electronics, mutual friends, travels, and the joys and complications of life.

Not long before we arrived, a car just outside of Peet's had missed its parking spot and plowed into Marshall Steel Cleaners. Your Boulevardier does not know the circumstances or if anyone was hurt.




This incident isn't the only automotive excitement in town. Last night after 9:00 p.m., as Your Boulevardier was driving home from a rehearsal, he noticed the CHP directing traffic at the intersection of Santa Maria Avenue and Castro Valley Boulevard. It turns out a vehicle had crashed into the control box that's planted in the lawn near the bus stop between Rigatoni's and the corner. (Truth be told, Your Boulevardier had never noticed the box before.) This rendered the traffic lights nonoperational.

Tax Season Is Upon Us

Your Boulevardier has, once again, fallen behind on postings. It's not for lack of material; it's for lack of a much more precious commodity: time. Work has been very busy, leaving time for walks but not time for writing about walks.

Another profession that is busy this time of the year is that of tax preparer. Dueling sign-carrying dancers have been at work in front of the H&R Block and Liberty Income Tax offices on Castro Valley Boulevard, luring in those for whom a person in a gown the color of aged French copper seems like a reliable advisor in financial matters.

Those who are less inclined to follow a human-animated sign would do well to look for this gem, which Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou spotted the other week as lunch was eaten at Swiss Delices.



There's much to admire in this hand-painted beauty: the rich, albeit faded, color scheme (Your Boulevardier counts at least seven different hues), the artistic touches (the flower over the "i" and the pointing finger, for example), and the unusual typography leap out. One hopes Don & Linda's Tax Service keeps the sign forever.